Lakeland police to restart drone program

Lakeland police officers will be using drones to keep an eye on crime once again. 

The drone program was paused after a new Florida law passed in 2022 and went into effect at the start of 2023, prohibiting them from being flown. 

“The concern was — could they conduct surveillance and take our video footage we have when we’re using it for law enforcement functions, and could they ingest that data and use it for something else?” said Lakeland Police Assistant Chief Hans Lehman. 

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement established a drone buy back program that gave law enforcement agencies $25,000 for each drone they turned in, so they could buy new ones that come with a huge upgrade.

“The ones we’re getting will have thermal imaging capabilities, mapping capabilities, so traffic homicide scenes so hopefully, we’ll get roads open quicker,” said Lehman. “It’ll also be for missing persons searches. We had a missing person the other day that could’ve helped on.” 

City commissioners approved a three-year subscription-based agreement, totaling $137,000 for four drones and the purchase of one drone that will be used by SWAT and tactical operations.

Lehman said the program’s future is bright. Remote pilots could use them for ‘first response’ to help free up units on calls that don’t need a physical officer present.

“They could actually be on rooftops whether we use it on a fire station or somewhere centralized. You have certain radiuses, but you could respond to those calls, fly back, dock it, and then you go to the next call,” said Lehman. 

The department hopes to launch the drones within the next couple of months.